6 Steps to a More Powerful Soccer Shot

A funny thing happens when we place a soccer ball in front of a goal. Something in our mind seems to snap, and we try to strike the ball as hard as we can.

Most of us, however, don't realize this actually slows down the soccer ball's speed.

Kicking at 100 percent force often causes us to tense up many of the muscles involved in the full multifunction process of the motion. Think of this as a "whipping" motion. Staying slightly loose during the kick allows our foot to be at the end of an accelerating chain of events. Tighten up any of those events, and you slow it down.

These key points will help to develop a stronger, longer and faster soccer kick.

Relax

1 of 8

Allow your entire body to go limp. Shake it out. Let your head, neck, legs and every part of your body relax. The only part of your body that should have tension is your ankle.

Find:

Kick With the Big Toe Knuckle

4 of 8

Approach the ball from a slight angle. Kick with the the largest bone in your foot, or the first metatarsal, which is just above the big toe knuckle. This translates into the most force or energy at impact.

Find:

Break the Pane

5 of 8

Pretend that the ball is sitting in front of a large pane of glass. You want to break the pane with your body, not just your leg or foot. This means that your forward momentum should continue through the shot. This will also cause you to land on your shooting foot, not your planted foot.

Find:

Record Your Shot

7 of 8

Many young soccer players are visual learners. Record footage of the player kicking the ball at a high frame rate, so you can break their shot down in slow motion. This will allow you to analyze every detail of the kick and track their progress over time.

Activities near you will have this indicator

Within 2 Miles

ACTIVE is the leader in online event registrations from 5k running races and marathons to softball leagues and local events. ACTIVE also makes it easy to learn and prepare for all the things you love to do with expert resources, training plans and fitness calculators.